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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Book Review: After Math by Denise Grover Swank

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Scarlett Goodwin’s world is divided into Before
and After.

Before she agreed to tutor Tucker price, college junior
Scarlett was introvert, struggling with her social anxiety and determined to
not end up living in a trailer park like her mother and her younger sister. A
mathematics major, she goes to her classes, to her job in the tutoring lab, and
then hides in the apartment she shares with her friend, Caroline.

After junior Tucker Price, Southern University’s star soccer
player enters the equation, her carefully plotted life is thrown off its axis.
Tucker’s failing his required College Algebra class. With his eligibility is at
risk, the university chancellor dangles an expensive piece of computer software
for the math department if Scarlett agrees to privately tutor him.Tucker’s bad
boy, womanizer reputation makes Scarlett wary of any contact, let alone
spending several hours a week in close proximity.

But from her first encounter, she realizes Tucker isn’t the
person everyone else sees. He carries a mountain of secrets which she suspects
hold the reason to his self-destructive behavior. But the deeper she delves
into the cause of his pain, the deeper she gets sucked into his chaos. Will
Scarlett find the happiness she’s looking for, or will she be caught in
Tucker’s aftermath?

I received a copy of this
book from AToMR Tours in exchange for my honest review.

I haven’t yet read as many
new adult books as many of my blogger and author friends (I’m trying to fix
that!), but of the ones I have read, this is definitely one of the best, if not
the best. Anyone who says NA is just young adult with
sex needs to read this book. Tucker and
Scarlett aren’t even dating for most of the book! Much more than just a sexy romance, this is a
story of two young people overcoming the wounds of their past and learning to
trust and put their faith in another person for the first time. I thought Scarlett and Tucker were both
characterized and fleshed out so well; both have been severely let down by the
people who should have taken care of them, and despite the huge differences in
their outward personalities, this thread connects them. Both characters’ pasts
were believable and heartbreaking without becoming over the top or
melodramatic. I really fell in love with
both of them and wanted so badly for them to find happiness.

I very much appreciated the
way the author developed the romance slowly and subtly, placing as much
importance on the small moments of trust and friendship between the two as the
progression of their romantic feelings.
The writing also flowed beautifully with just the right amount of
internal reflection. I’m looking forward
to reading more from this author!

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About Me

Stephanie Parent is a graduate of the Master of Professional Writing program at USC and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts as a piano major. She moved to Los Angeles because of Francesca Lia Block's WEETZIE BAT books, which might give you some idea of how much books mean to her. She also loves dogs, books about dogs, and sugary coffee drinks both hot and cold.